Qualitative Inquiry
Volume 17, Issue 9, 2011, Pages 769-779

Researching trafficked women: On institutional resistance and the limits to feminist reflexivity (Article)

Bosworth M.* , Hoyle C. , Dempsey M.M.
  • a Monash University, Victoria, Australia, Monash University, Victoria, Australia
  • b Monash University, Victoria, Australia
  • c Villanova University, Pennsylvania, PA, United States

Abstract

This article exposes methodological barriers we encountered in a small research project on women trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation and our attempts, drawing on feminist and emergent methods, to resolve them. It critically assesses the role of institutional gatekeepers and the practical challenges faced in obtaining data directly from trafficking victims. Such difficulties, it suggests, spring at least in part from lingering disagreements within the feminist academic, legal, and advocacy communities regarding the nature, extent, and definition of trafficking. They also reveal concerns from policy makers and practitioners over the relevance and utility of academic research. Although feminist researchers have focused on building trust with vulnerable research participants, there has been far less discussion about how to persuade institutional elites to cooperate. Our experiences in this project, we suggest, reveal limitations in the emphasis on reflexivity in feminist methods, and point to the need for more strategic engagement with policy makers about the utility of academic research in general. © The Author(s) 2011.

Author Keywords

institutional gatekeepers feminist methods globalisation sex trafficking

Index Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-80054052898&doi=10.1177%2f1077800411423192&partnerID=40&md5=5388946befcf47928387993394876e3c

DOI: 10.1177/1077800411423192
ISSN: 10778004
Cited by: 19
Original Language: English